Chapter 38 - Fierce Battle Aboard Ship (3)

On top of that, his Beginner's Sword, clothes, shoes, and headscarf were top-tier gear that did not exist here. In this New Murim Online—in other words, Murim—no one else possessed Items. He alone had them. Simply equipping them should easily close a gap of a level or two.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

Within a few steps, his outfit had changed completely. He put the blood-soaked black clothes and mask he had worn as the Nameless Hero into his Inventory and changed into his beginner's set. His stats rose the instant he equipped the Items.

HUMMM.

Then he immediately activated Qi Circulation, boosting his Attack Power and Defense as well. His preparations were complete.

Now he only had to fight and win.

A few seconds later, Dong Bongsu finally emerged from the shadow of the towerlike cabin, revealing himself fully in the moonlight.

Impassive eyes, a thin frame, and a height somewhat at odds with his scrawny build.

Apart from his eyes, he looked like Sosam in every respect.

"You?!"

Gosangong was startled to see Dong Bongsu finally reveal himself.

The reason was simple. Though he barely knew the man, he had seen Dong Bongsu not long ago. His clothes had changed, but he was still recognizable. His physique looked unusually frail for a guest of the Namgung Clan, and Gosangong had distinctly seen members of the Cheonpung Unit's Second Squad carrying him into Heaven Guest Hall on their backs earlier.

"Why are you...?"

Dong Bongsu casually tossed out an answer to Gosangong's question.

"For the Namgung Clan."

Horribly slaughtering the Cheonpung Unit's members was for the Namgung Clan's sake?

Gosangong would have called that nonsense, but Dong Bongsu was telling the truth. His own survival depended on the Namgung Clan's survival. His methods were a little extreme, but he was doing his utmost to leave some "advice" aboard this ship.

"You crazy..."

Just as Gosangong was about to finish with "bastard"—

WHOOSH!

Dong Bongsu launched his attack.

Gosangong might consider it cowardly, but to Dong Bongsu, it was only natural. He had been planning it ever since Gosangong began asking questions.

There were no "rules" or "fair play" in a fight. Wouldn't it be even more ridiculous if there were? You fought to win. Did the means and methods matter when it came to winning? Talking about cowardice when lives were at stake was especially absurd.

He was fine with most of what he had encountered here, but formalities—that was the one thing Dong Bongsu disliked.

Fighting was not a sport. Dress it up with all the formalities you liked; a fight was still just a fight.

TAP-TAP-TAP.

[Qinggong Lv.5 Proficiency: 47.75%]

A martial art that lightens the body. Learning Qinggong allows you to jump higher and run faster.

Currently Applied Level: Lv.5 (The player can adjust this Skill's applied level.)

Jump Bonus: 50%

Movement Bonus: 50%

True Qi Cost per Second: 5 JP

Dong Bongsu's Qinggong had now reached level 5, granting a 50% bonus to both jumping and movement. With it active, his movements were entirely different from moments before. Moreover, level 2 Qi Circulation gave him a full 60% bonus to Attack Power and Defense. Not only his movements, but the power of his sword as well, was incomparable to when he had slaughtered the Cheonpung Unit's Third Squad members earlier.

His Beginner's Sword sliced through the air, darting straight for Gosangong's throat.

It was Direct Strike Yellow Dragon, the second form of the Three Forces Sword Art, which his steady practice had brought to level 4.

[Three Forces Sword Art, Second Form: Direct Strike Yellow Dragon Lv.4 Proficiency: 45.7%]

Currently Applied Level: Lv.4 (The player can adjust this Skill's applied level.)

Thrust Range Bonus: 4%

Thrust Attack Power Bonus: 4%

Thrust Execution Speed Bonus: -3%

True Qi Cost per Use: 60 JP

CLANG!

Gosangong was no pushover either. Despite the sudden attack, he swiftly raised his sword and knocked the Beginner's Sword aside.

Then he immediately counterattacked. His ten years of sword training in the Namgung Clan had not been for nothing. The force of his sword was formidable, and its ringing note was keen.

The move Gosangong used was Heavenly Wind Flowing Cloud, the first form of the Heavenly Wind Sword Art. The Cheonpung Unit's exclusive sword art employed heavy sword forms, striking opponents with the ferocity of winds sweeping across the heavens. Among its forms, Heavenly Wind Flowing Cloud was the fastest, specializing in horizontal strikes.

WHOOOSH.

Like wind gliding gently over clouds, Gosangong's sword swept toward Dong Bongsu's waist.

Still off balance from the force of Gosangong's earlier parry, Dong Bongsu was in no position to properly block the move.

He forced his wrist around, pointing his sword tip down. That completed a blocking posture with the blade held vertically, its tip toward the ground. Since he had rarely needed to block anything, his passive Block Skill was extremely low-level compared with his others. Just level 2. An action bonus of 5%.

CLANG!

Gosangong's sword, perfectly parallel to the deck, struck Dong Bongsu's blade at a right angle.

"Pfft!"

The swords collided with an explosive report. At the same instant, Gosangong's move swept Dong Bongsu off his feet and hurled him far to the side. The impact made him involuntarily spit blood. He had suffered an internal injury.

If his Qi Circulation had been level 1 rather than level 2, perhaps...

That single stroke might have killed him.

'He's stronger than I expected!' Dong Bongsu thought.

The level gap was one thing, but the difference between someone formally trained in Murim swordsmanship and someone who wielded a sword through game Skills alone seemed considerable.

He opened his status window to check the damage. Despite successfully blocking, he had lost roughly a tenth of his Vitality gauge. Taking a direct hit could only mean death.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and rose again. Though he had suffered an internal injury, his expression remained unchanged.

Gosangong attacked again at the sight. Believing there were more enemies besides Dong Bongsu, he intended to finish this quickly.

This time, he used Heavenly Wind Thunderbolt, the second form of the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.

Like wind plunging down in lightning's wake, Gosangong's sword descended from above.

WHOOM!

The Heavenly Wind Sword Art placed such emphasis on heavy sword strikes that the blade generated tremendous wind pressure as it cleaved the air. With a rushing sound like a club swung hard through empty air, the sword was descending toward Dong Bongsu's head.

Dong Bongsu merely stared blankly, making no attempt to dodge or block. On closer inspection, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, almost as if he were smiling.

What pleased him so much?

What could this man, whose emotions never fluctuated no matter what happened, possibly be smiling at in this life-or-death moment?

The truth was that Dong Bongsu simply enjoyed the situation.

Being wounded like this felt strangely good. He was experiencing an odd pleasure he had never known on modern Earth, where everything had gone according to his calculations with almost hollow ease, and he had enjoyed killing far too effortlessly.

He had felt this a few times since coming here, and now was no different.

He had casually assumed he could win, yet he was unexpectedly struggling. No, from another perspective, he was being overwhelmed so thoroughly that he was hardly a match at all.

Paradoxically, that unforeseen outcome gave him pleasure. Perhaps, in a way, he had hunted predators on modern Earth in the hope of encountering just such an unexpected situation. It was simply that every one of those predators had died without granting his wish.

He thought that perhaps he could even die happy right now.

But...

Not dying was... far better.

Because this "New Murim Online" seemed to hold so many more unpredictable events and monsters capable of entertaining him.

THWACK!

Just before Gosangong's sword split his head in two, he produced a lump of iron from his Inventory, where he always kept it for emergencies, directly below the uncovered portion of his forehead. Then he rolled sideways.

It was the technique—or rather, non-technique—commonly called the Lazy Donkey Roll here. It had earned that name for resembling a lazy donkey rolling madly across the ground.

Dong Bongsu disagreed completely. No lazy donkey would struggle so desperately to survive. The name Lazy Donkey Roll itself was wrong. Throw your life away over mere embarrassment? He could not understand that, nor did he need to.

If necessary, he could roll across the ground a hundred times, a thousand times.

CLANG!

Gosangong's sword cut through the iron plate that had abruptly appeared in midair and buried itself in the deck.

He could not understand it. Where had that iron plate suddenly come from? But he had no time to ponder it. Dong Bongsu counterattacked immediately after rolling aside.

SWISH!

With a sharp whistle through the air, Dong Bongsu's sword shot toward Gosangong's flank. Once again, the Skill he used was Direct Strike Yellow Dragon.

"Not a chance!"

Gosangong found it laughable. The first surprise attack had flustered him a little, but now he was ready. And the man was using Direct Strike Yellow Dragon again?

He pulled his sword from the deck and immediately raised it toward Dong Bongsu's incoming blade. He expected to knock it aside easily once more.

Something strange happened.

At the very instant their swords should have collided, Dong Bongsu's sword suddenly vanished. Gosangong's blade cut through empty air instead and swung up above his head.

For one fleeting moment, he was left open.

SWISH!

A keen whistle cut through the air.

Dong Bongsu's vanished sword was coming at him again.

SLICE.

Gosangong evaded the Beginner's Sword by a hair. But he could not avoid it completely, and a long sword cut opened across his face.

He had no idea what had happened. A sword coming at him had vanished and reappeared. It was impossible. But that was not what mattered now. Dong Bongsu's attack was not over yet.

Gosangong immediately retreated.

Dong Bongsu pursued him at once, this time unleashing Sweep Away a Thousand Armies, the first form of the Three Forces Sword Art.

[Three Forces Sword Art, First Form: Sweep Away a Thousand Armies Lv.4 Proficiency: 33.0%]